If you’re one of those people who sometimes misses a call because your mobile is tucked away in your bag, preventing you from hearing it ring, then Nokia may have the answer — in the form of a vibrating tattoo.

The Finnish company has patented an idea that involves using a ferromagnetic material which would be sprayed or stamped onto a user’s skin before being linked up with a mobile device, says a BBC report. The material is capable of detecting a magnetic field and emitting a vibration.

The patent was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office last week and describes how the magnetic marking could be placed pretty much anywhere on a person’s body, including their finger, or even their fingernail.

The patent explains that once applied, the tattoo could work in a number of ways. It could, for example, let you know when your phone’s battery is running low, tell you when an email has been received or alert you to an event on your calendar.

Vibrations could come in the form of a single pulse, multiple pulses, one long pulse, strong and weak pulses — with each type of pulse relating to different kinds of notifications. You could also program it to vibrate in different ways depending on who’s calling.

News site Unwired View, which uncovered the patent, said that besides being sprayed or stamped on the body, the material could be applied like a regular tattoo, making it more permanent.

“You’ll apparently be able to choose the actual image you want as the tattoo. The procedure is identical to that of getting a ‘normal’ tattoo – only the ink is special,” Unwired View’s report explained.

Though a ‘silent’ vibrating tattoo could prove useful on occasion, it’s hard to believe many people would want to endure a surgical-like procedure just to ensure they never miss another call.

Perhaps it would be useful in places like movie theaters and business meetings, where even a phone switched to vibrate can cause head-turns and tuts when it goes off.

Would you be happy to have a vibrating tattoo applied to your forearm? Or are you managing just fine without one?